1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing systems that include memory circuits and related methods.
2. Description of Related Art
As is known, integrated circuits are used in a wide variety of electronic equipment, including portable, or handheld, devices. Such handheld devices include personal digital assistants (PDA), CD players, MP3 players, DVD players, AM/FM radios, pagers, cellular telephones, computer memory extensions (commonly referred to as a thumb drive), etc. Each of these handheld devices includes one or more integrated circuits to provide the functionality of the device. As an example, a handheld FM radio receiver may include multiple integrated circuits to support the reception and processing of broadcast radio signals in order to produce an audio output that is delivered to the user through speakers, headphones or the like. Many such integrated circuits include a processing device that executes a program that includes a sequence of instructions that are stored in a memory device such as a random access memory (RAM).
It is desirable for these handheld devices to operate over a range of temperatures that correspond to the various environmental conditions to which the handheld device may be exposed. The need exists for memory devices that operate over a wide range of operating conditions and that can be implemented efficiently in integrated circuit designs.